Wichita eagle., 1887-10-02
The Finest Dry Pressed Brick in the
World and Wichita Can Furn-
iah All Kansas.

the excavations made for buildings But as TO
brick we have gone on making an inferio
article from the aIuvial soils of the valley
! sending TO st. Louis for the quality necessarl
for fine business fronts and more pretentiou
residences. During the past six months il
! addition TO the product of sixteen yards
thousands of car loads of common brick hay,
been shipped in from western Missouri ant
eastern Kansas and not less than one hund
dred aud fifty thousand dollars of Wichita
cash has gone to St Louis..in the same brie1
period of tine for the fine pressed brick OF
that city.
But, a few months since company was
formed for the purpose of producing ma
chine made brick from the gypsum-mag-
nesian composite of the original formation
east Of the city. The result was brick of
| the texture of stone-waIe and the lasting
qualities of cast iron which are being pro-
duced in large quantities. But this last
triumph did not relieve builders of the nee
essity of sending five hundred miles by rail
for front brick.
| And now the whole problem has been
solved. AS we said, the valley proper is but
an illuvial deposit, the result of the acre
tions Of the ages and the action of our river,
the higher prairies being composite of gyp-
sum and magnetism lime. But mile or two
south of the city limits is an original forma-
tion of fine yellow clay, which as low bluff
is washed by the river. This unique clay
mfr oh fnr.
nation yet discovered in this section, had
often been observed, and even its supposed
brick making qualities discussed, but until
VIM. Mathewson, one day last spring, real
iziDg the drain being made upon our pocket
books for fine brick, put $4,000 in
his pocket and lit out for
st. Louis to consult Kennedy, the patentee of
the Kenedey Dry Press brick machine, did
the situation have any promise of relief, The
machines were bought on guaranty, and
after much labor and expense got to work a
few weeks ago, The first kiln has been
burned, and Friday afternoon large num-
Der of the members Of the Board of Trade
and other business men drove down to see
the kiln opened The surprise was only
equalled by the qualification. The bricks are
splendid success, being more beautiful and
higher in color than the st. Louis brick,
same breaking strength. The brick are
smooth as glass and as perfect in lines and
corners as the famous Philadelphia brick
the crowd felt like shouting over the vic
tory-one more victory in Wichitas onward
march of destiny.
4 MIR. Kenedey, the patentee of the machine,
waa present but not particularly elated, as
he said he knew exactly what the clay would
do. He said to us that brick were coming
from st. Louis to Wichita every day which
were turned out by his machines from the
St. Louis clay and that he was free to say
that the Wichita dry pressed brick we're
superior to the st. Louis pressed brick.
What this means need not be dwelt upon.
Wichita will not only stop sending her
money to st. Louis, and not only supply her.
self, but will be in position to supply every
city in the state from Topeka and Emporia |
west. i,
The bluff or deposit of clay lies along side |
of the Sarta Fe track. The clay
which is without grit or foreign
matter of airy character is resolved into al |
most impalpable powder and resembles I'M
burnt elbow ochre in body and in color. |
The plant consists of fifty horse power en-
CINE and boiler and tive Kenedy machines |
with a capacity Of twenty-five thousand |
brick per day each. The dry clay is run in
and dumped into crusher, which works |
with the press. The dry dirt
is dumped in is pulverized into dust, con-
veyed to the press and delivered six at a time
before hand touches them. They are then
placed on truck, wheeled to the kiln and |
pitched up and set at the rate of five thousand
an hour by two machines. The
first, or experimental kiln, contained $50 900
brick, but another will be finished today
100000. Four acres of ground
has been relieved of the upper soil and the
LAY, which is forty feet in depth, is plowed
md scraped off as fast as needed. With one
ourth allowed for waste there is enough clay
n sight to make one hundred and two mil
ion of bricks, or four hundred ordinary
lilns. For this last triumph and victory,
Wichita pluck. as evinced by one of its old
st citizens Mr.. VIM. Matthewson, especial
y, an by his confereS and partners can be
banked. While no doubt he and they viii
eceive their pecunisry reward, and in a
arge way, the value OF the demonstration TO
Wichita as city is pro ably beyond
present computation II Wichita bu.
lad the money today paid out TO other towns
or brick the past year she would he hun
Ireds OF thoussus of dollars richer in pocket,
md again we repeat, all honor to the energy
md pluck Of the men who have made this
Enterprise such GROWING success.
The name and style of the company is The
Forest City Dry Press Brick Co.." William
president, Frank Todd secretary,
I. NJ. Piatt treasurer, aud II Fitch superin-
endent; capital stock 500, GEO. In addition ,
% tde above names there are the following
tockaolders: Sites Bros, Clark kipkaid,
Robert Jack, 81. H. Harshey, Q. Martinson
md L. B. Kennedy, constituting corpora
ion who asked no subscriptions, no bonus or
id Of any character-they didn't have to.
WHAT THEY ALL SAY.
A Chicago gentleman, connected with that